Jan Strelau

Individual differences in emotional reactivity moderate the strength of the relationship between attentional and implicit-memory biases towards threat-related stimuli

The study investigated whether the strength of the relationship between attentional and implicit-memory biases for threat-related material can be moderated by individual differences in temperament and personality. A spatial cueing task, where task-irrelevant angry, happy, and neutral faces acted as spatial cues preceding a target, was immediately followed by an unexpected “old/new” task involving previously presented faces. Temperament-based emotional reactivity (ER; ones typical response strength to emotional stimuli) predicted improved memory performance for angry faces in the “old/new” task. Critically, the relationship between the attentional bias towards threat (indexed by a cue validity index, i.e., a difference in response times on trials where cues with angry expression were presented in the same versus different location to the subsequent target) and enhanced implicit-memory for previously presented task-irrelevant threat-related information was found to be moderated by ER. The current findings provide the first evidence that temperament traits can offer novel insights into the mechanisms enhancing cognitive biases towards threat in the typical population.

Effect of Frustration on Brain Activation Pattern in Subjects with Different Temperament

In spite of the prevalence of frustration in everyday life, very few neuroimaging studies were focused on this emotional state. In the current study we aimed to examine effects of frustration on brain activity while performing a well-learned task in participants with low and high tolerance for arousal. Prior to the functional magnetic resonance imaging session, the subjects underwent 2 weeks of Braille reading training. Frustration induction was obtained by using a novel highly difficult tactile task based on discrimination of Braille-like raised dots patterns and negative feedback. Effectiveness of this procedure has been confirmed in a pilot study using galvanic skin response and questionnaires. Brain activation pattern during tactile discrimination task before and after frustration were compared directly. Results revealed changes in brain activity in structures mostly reported in acute stress studies: striatum, cingulate cortex, insula, middle frontal gyrus and precuneus and in structures engaged in tactile Braille discrimination: SI and SII. Temperament type affected activation pattern. Subjects with low tolerance for arousal showed higher activation in the posterior cingulate gyrus, precuneus, and inferior parietal lobule than high reactivity group. Even though performance in the discrimination trials following frustration was unaltered, we observed increased activity of primary and secondary somatosensory cortex processing the tactile information. We interpret this effect as an indicator of additional involvement required to counteract the effects of frustration.

The Relationship Between Intelligence and Pavlovian Temperament Traits: The Role of Gender and Level of Intelligence

From the very beginning of scientific research in psychology, the question about the relationship between intelligence and personality has been attracting attention. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2006) mentioned seven reasons that justify the interest of both these aspects of human characteristics at the same time. Both intelligence and personality traits are latent psychological constructs, which are manifested in individual differences in human behavior that can be systematically measured and observed. Individual differences in intelligence as well as in personality traits are quite stable along a life span, and to a given extent genetically determined; thus, in regard to both of them, the predictive role in educational and occupational setting is revealed. Moreover, both aspects – intelligence and personality – play a central role in the history of individual differences studies. As mentioned in our previous publications (Miklewska, Kaczmarek, & Strelau, 2006; Miklewska, Strelau, & Kaczmarek, 2004), many personality researchers, such as Thurstone, Guilford, Eysenck, and Cattell, showed interest in both intelligence and personality.